Wednesday, June 29, 2011

"Mother Francisca of the Angels, my faithful spouse who secretly bears my wounds...will end her earthly life to enter eternity on the fourth day of October at five o'clock in the evening. Only eight months of her pilgrimage remain, and then, Heaven. She will not even see Purgatory.

"But in order to cleanse her from the dust of the road, for three months...she will suffer indescribable torments of soul and temptations of every kind against all the virtues, the most difficult being those against Faith...

"During this period of great affliction for My beloved spouse, I will enrich her soul with great merits. For when I give some souls who are beloved of My Heart their purgatory while they yet live in mortal life, it is so that this purification may be accompanied by merits, which cannot be accrued in the place of expiation outside of mortal life, where souls make amends for the faults they committed without acquiring the least personal merit. They suffer, like indigent beggars, awaiting the charity of the intercessory prayers of the Church Militant.

"...you have, before your eyes this city of fire, suffering, and pain, filled with countless number of souls of every age, sex, condition, and state of life, suffering what is incomprehensible to mortals. But since they are souls already confirmed in grace, they possess an admirable peace, resignation, and patience, and give glory to God. Their greatest suffering results from their supernatural love for their God and Lord and their great desire to contemplate Him in Heaven, but they must remain far from His company."

Raising her eyes, the holy Spanish religious saw this city inhabited by a multitude of souls afflicted by indescribable torments. With loud voices, they implored her prayers, penances, and intercession. Her compassionate heart felt great pity for these suffering souls, and she promised them that in the little time that still remained to her on earth, she would do all that she could to alleviate their pains and help as many as possible to enter Heaven.

~ The Divine Infant Speaks to Mother Mariana and shows her a vision of Purgatory ~

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

"Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother."

"O, if mortals only understood how to appreciate the time given to them, and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for theirdownfall!"

Friday, June 17, 2011

"On earth you simply do not know what God is. There, each one of you has an idea of what you think God is, according to your very limited knowledge, but when we leave our covering of clay and when nothing impedes the liberty of our souls, we at last begin to know God, His goodness, His mercy, His love. After this clearer view and the thirst for union, our souls yearn for God. This is our very life and we are forever repulsed because we are not sufficiently pure. This, in a word, is our worst suffering, the hardest, the most bitter. Oh, if only we were allowed to come back to earth, after knowing what God really is, what a different life we would lead! But what useless regrets, and yet on earth you do not think of these things and live as if you were blind. Eternity is of no account to you. The earth, which is only a journey and receives only the body which in itself turns to dust, is the sole object to which almost all of your desires tend and you do not even think of Heaven while Jesus and His love are entirely forgotten."

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

In the year 1589, in the monastery of St. Mary of the Angels, in Florence, died a Religious who was much esteemed by her sisters in religion, but who soon appeared to St. Magdalen de Pazzi to implore her assistance in the rigorous Purgatory to which she was condemned. The saint was in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament when she perceived the deceased kneeling in the middle of the church in an attitude of profound adoration. She had around her a mantle of flames that seemed to consume her, but a white robe that covered her body protected her in part from the action of the fire. Greatly astonished, Magdalen desired to know what this signified, and she was answered that this soul suffered thus for having had little devotion toward the August Sacrament of the Altar. Not withstanding the rules and holy customs of her Order, she had communicated but rarely, and then with indifference. It was for this reason Divine Justice had condemned her to come every day to adore the Blessed Sacrament, and to submit to the torture of fire at the feet of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, in reward for her virginal purity, represented
by the white robe, her Divine Spouse had greatly mitigated her sufferings.

Such was the revelation which God made to His servant. She was deeply touched, and made every effort to assist the poor soul by all the suffrages in her power. She often related this apparition, and made use of it to exhort her spiritual daughters to zeal for Holy Communion.

To tepidity is allied negligence in the preparation for the Eucharistic Banquet. If the Church unceasingly calls her children to the Holy Table, if she desires that they communicate frequently, she always intends that they should do so with that fervour and piety which so great a mystery demands. All voluntary neglect in so holy an action is an offence to the Sanctity of Jesus Christ, an offence which must be repaired by a just expiation. Venerable Louisof Blois, in his Miroir Spirituel, speaks of a great servant of God who learned in a supernatural manner how severely these faults are punished in the other life. He received a visit from a soul in Purgatory imploring his aid in name of the friendship by which they had formerly been united. She endured, she said, horrible torments, for the negligence with which she had prepared for Holy Communion during the days of her earthly pilgrimage. She could not be delivered but by a fervent Communion which would compensate for her former tepidity.

Her friend hastened to gratify her desire, received Holy Communion with great purity of conscience, with all the faith and devotion possible; and then she saw the holy soul appear, brilliant with an incomparable splendour, and rise towards heaven.

~ Excerpts from Purgatory: Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the Saints ~

mercifully grant both time and grace to make an act of perfect contrition.

Amen.

~ From Devotion to the Holy Spirit , Tan Books ~

1451 Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again."

1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called "perfect" (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.

1453 The contrition called "imperfect" (or "attrition") is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin's ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.

1457 According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year."56 Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession.57 Childrenmust go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.

Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do."

~Blessed John XXIII~

THE DAILY DECALOGUE OF POPE JOHN XXIII

1) Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.

2) Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behaviour; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.

3) Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.

4) Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.

5) Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul. 6) Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.

7) Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.

8) Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.

9) Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.

10) Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for 12 hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

Grateful for Purgatory but aiming for Heaven!

“ The chief plenary indulgence, which is within reach of everybody, and can be gained without the ordinary conditions, is that of charity--which ‘covers a multitude of sins.’ ”~ St. Therese of Lisieux ~

St. Michael the Archangel

Photo by Brother Lawrence Lew, O.P. Click on photo to link to his site.

Unvarnished Truth

St. Gertrude Prayer

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

St. Pio's Words of Hope

"For the Lord, the past does not exist; the future does not exist. Everything is an eternal present...even now I can pray for the happy death of my great- grandfather!"

Pious Union of Saint Joseph Prayer

O St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus Christ and true spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray for us and for the suffering and dying of today.

About Me

I am a Roman Catholic wife, mother, and grandmother who -YES- has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! What could be more personal than
receiving His Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in Holy Communion every day, or spending precious time with Him in daily Eucharistic adoration? Outside of heaven, I can't be closer to Jesus than when He gives Himself to me in Holy Communion or when I bask in His Eucharistic Presence.